title: Critically endangered blonde capuchins fish for termites and use new techniques to accomplish the task.
abstract: We report the spontaneous modification and use of sticks to fish for termites, above the ground, in wild blonde capuchins (Cebus flavius). These critically endangered Neotropical primates inhabit remnants of the Atlantic Forest. They used two previously undescribed techniques to enhance their termite capture success: nest tapping and stick rotation. The current ecologically based explanation for tool use in wild capuchins (i.e. terrestrial habits and bipedalism) must be viewed cautiously. Instead, remarkable manual skills linked to a varied diet seem important in promoting tool use in different contexts. The repertoire of tool-using techniques employed by wild capuchins has been expanded, highlighting the behavioural versatility in this genus.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Rua Professor Moraes Rego, s/n, 50.670-420 Recife-PE, Brazil. asouto@ufpe.br
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Souto
authors.forename: Camila B C
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Bione
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.forename: Bruna M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fragaszy
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schiel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002428:Cebus / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D020049:Isoptera; D008297:Male; D053001:Tool Use Behavior